Concrete structures are exposed to aggressive environmental conditions that lead to corrosion of the embedded reinforcement and pre-stressing steel. Consequently, the safety of concrete structures may be compromised, and this requires a significant budgets to repair and maintain critical infrastructure. Prediction of structural safety can lead to significant reductions in maintenance costs by maximizing the impact of investments. The aim of this paper is to establish a framework to assess the reliability of existing post-tensioned concrete bridges. A time-dependent reliability analysis of an existing post-tensioned involving the assessment of Ynys-y-Gwas bridge has been presented in this study. The main cause of failure of this bridge was c

Titanium-dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles suspended in water, and ethanol based fluids have been prepared using one step method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV–visible spectrophotometer. The TiO₂ nanoparticles were added to base fluids with different volume concentrations from 0.1% to1.5% by dispersing the synthesized nanoparticles in deionized water and ethanol solutions. The effective thermal conductivity, viscosity and pH of prepared nanofluids at different temperatures from 15 to 30 ^oC were carried out and investigated. It was observed that the thermal conductivity, pH, and viscosity of nanofluids increases with the increase in TiO₂ nanoparticle volume fraction

The utilization of recycled brick tile powder as a replacement for conventional filler in the asphalt concrete mix has been studied in this research. This research evaluates the effectiveness of recycled brick tile powder and determines its optimum replacement level. Using recycled brick tile powder is significant from an environmental standpoint as it is a waste product from construction activities. Sixteen asphalt concrete samples were produced, and eight were soaked for a day. Samples contained 5% Bitumen, 2% to 5% brick tile powder, and conventional stone dust filler. The properties of samples were evaluated using the Marshall test. It was observed that the resistance to stiffness and deformation of asphalt concrete

Phase change materials are known to be good in use in latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems, but one of their drawbacks is the slow melting and solidification processes. So that, in this work, enhancing heat transfer of phase change material is studied experimentally for in charging and discharging processes by the addition of high thermal conductive material such as copper in the form of brushes, which were added in both PCM and air sides. The additions of brushes have been carried out with different void fractions (97%, 94% and 90%) and the effect of four different air velocities was tested. The results indicate that the minimum brush void fraction gave the maximum heat transfer in PCM and reduced the time

Lignin has emerged as a promising asphalt binder modifier due to its sustainable and renewable nature, with the potential to improve flexible pavement performance. This study investigates the use of Soda Lignin Powder (SLP), derived from Pinus wood sawdust via alkaline treatment, as an asphalt modifier to enhance mixture durability. SLP was characterized using Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM/EDX), revealing significant changes in its chemical structure post-extraction. These analyses showed the presence of phenolic units, including hydroxyphenyl propane, syringyl, and guaiacyl units. The morphology of SLP was identified

Worldwide, enormous amounts of waste cause major environmental issues, including scrap tires and plastic, and large waste, a consequence of the demolition of buildings, including crushed concrete, crushed clay bricks, and crushed thermo-stone. From that point, it’s possible to consider that the recycling processes for these materials and using them in the manufacturing field will reduce the adverse effects on the environment of these wastes and the consumption of natural resources. Sustainable concrete blocks can be considered as one of the products produced by using these materials as partial volume replacement of the coarse, fine aggregate, or cement content, considering their dry density, workability, absorption, compressive st

This qualitative study was conducted on eight types of commercial baking yeast which available in local markets to estimate their fermentation activity as affecting the Bread industry and the impact of the salt added to DoughLeavening, The results showed a great variation in the fermentation capacity of yeast samples (their role in swelling the dough), most notably the sample value Y3 and least sample Y7 and reached 80% and 20% respectively, and the value of Leavening by using the two types of yeast with addition of three levels of salt (0 , 1 and 2%) have 20.0 , 19.7 and 15.7 of the sample Y3, compared with 10.5 , 10.3 and 8.8 of the sample Y7 for each of the levels of salt respectively, reflect

This research worked on identifying the effect of increasing the volume of indebtedness by companies listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange on the trading volume of those companies, and this research included some theoretical concepts related to both debt financing and trading volume, and it represents the research community of the joint-stock companies listed in The Iraq Stock Exchange (the banking sector). As for the research sample, it was deliberately chosen represented by companies with continuous trading without stopping, which reached 10 joint-stock companies, and the period of research was extended during the period 2011-2015, and a set of indicators and financial methods were used In measuring research v